The Price of Redemption
by Melpomene blue
Summary: “The harmless recon mission she had been promised had failed to live up to its expectations.” Rated for description of violence.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Price of Redemption

Author: Melpomene Blue

Rating: T

Summary: "The harmless recon mission she had been promised had failed to live up to its expectations."

Disclaimer: No monies made, no rights held.

The Price of Redemption

The flare of raw unadulterated pain renewed itself almost as soon as it had ceased and very slowly continued its path across her back, nearly stilling the beating her heart and making breathing all but impossible. Had she not already been so well secured against the wall, she would have long ago puddled to the floor as much out of desperation to escape their touch as from exhaustion and pain.

As it was, her legs had ceased to be able to support her - not that they had been of much use to begin with, forcing her arms to bear the brunt of her weight as she pressed forward against the rough rocks that made up the cell wall. The heavy metal cuffs biting deeply into the broken and bloody flesh of her wrists no longer worried her. Possible blood poisoning from the crusting rust was the least in her very long list of problems. On the bright side, her hand no longer seemed to hurt and her foot was nearly forgotten.

She had known pain before, endured it often enough to know her limits, but the slowly drawn out process of her ordeal was nearly beyond anything she had experienced. Even giving birth to Adria had been a walk in the park compared to this. The only experience she could draw on from her memories that held any semblance at all involved Qetesh and she struggled to keep those memories from resurfacing.

Her tormentors spoke to her, their voices low and calm in the terrible stillness of her frigid cell. Their words never ceased, spilling forth much the same as the blood that already slicked her back, their tone never rose to anger or despair. Vala could not say the same for her own vocalizations. The gag the guards had forced between her teeth muffled her words but didn't prevent her from trying to speak.

She thought that the provisioners' voices were likely to drive her deep into insanity long before the constant pain of their ministrations were ever given the chance. She tried to ignore them but found the attempt futile. Unwillingly, she could also hear her own groans and muffled cries echo against the shadowed corners of her own chamber of hell. Straining desperately, she could not hear the tell tale sound of her teammates arriving to rescue her and she wondered if they had even noticed she was missing from their appointed rooms.

The frozen air, which had chilled her through when she had first been thrust into the cell and set her teeth to chatter against the gag, burned her throat and only caused more trembles to quake her limbs, threatening to reawaken the pain in her foot and hand. It was so cold she was surprised she could not see her breath. The air, the stone, the blade, the provisioner's hands… it all worked to turn her to ice. If only she could truly turn to ice…

As the blade moved from the back of her right shoulder and sunk once more into the soft skin just below her left shoulder blade, Vala bit her lips to keep back the cry she desperately wanted to voice and pressed her forehead harder against the stone wall as the metallic tang of blood hit her tongue. The tears, however, had been beyond her control to stop. Calling on every fiber of mental strength she had left, she struggled to pull her mind from the slow torment and submerge her thoughts in a far more pleasant place.

The harmless recon mission she had been promised had failed to live up to its expectations.

-oOo-

"It's just a recon mission, princess. Thought we could all do with a change of scenery."

Vala cocked her head at Cam and shrugged, disregarding the magazine she had been flipping through, she rolled from her bed to stand and beam at him with a wicked gleam in her eye. "I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion."

The suggestive tone of her voice brought a smirk to Cameron's face and he swatted at her rollers and eyed the robe she'd casually draped over her pajamas with a broad grin. "In the interest of an uneventful recon, I think we can wait for you to get dressed - just don't be an hour. I promise you, there won't be anyone there for you to impress."

Her smile changed to a flirtatious grin and caused him to wag a finger at her in only partial mock consternation. "I mean it, Vala, if you're not in the gate room in fifteen minutes, we'll leave without you."

They hadn't needed to carry through with the threat to leave without her, she reached the gate room just as the last chevron locked. Vala bounced closer to Daniel's side, her grin spreading when he cut his eyes at her.

It had been three weeks since they had last been off world as a group thanks to a far too interesting mission to "Gopher Hole Province" as Cam had taken to calling the planet. That they had each stepped into one of the well-concealed holes during their recon had not been the issue, that both Daniel and Cam had sprained their ankles doing so was. Under Dr. Lam's strict orders, the pair had been grounded until she was convinced the sprains were completely healed.

During the interim, Sam and Teal'c had been loaned out to various other teams but Vala – Vala had been left to her own devices. She had spent a few days out shopping with Sam between the astrophysicist's missions with the other teams in order to further immerse herself in Earth's cultural offerings and she had learned how to play a rather pointless game called ping pong with one young officer she had cornered in the hallway on a particularly boring day. She had paid daily visits to both Daniel and Cam until Daniel decided he would be better able to recuperate at his apartment… off base, and Cam had taken to napping during her social calls. In the end, Vala had spent far too much time lounging in her own room on base and browsing through countless magazines.

"How's your ankle, Daniel? Are you feeling better? Well rested?"

He smiled slightly at the stream of questions. "Yes, thank you. How was your down time?"

She shrugged and hopped lightly from one foot to the other, her pigtails swaying with her eagerness. "I did learn the intricacies of hitting a ping pong ball with a rubber lined paddle," she offered at last. She turned her attention back to the gate as Cam stepped into the event horizon. Taking a deep breath and glad to finally be leaving the planet, even if only for a short and boring recon mission, she followed with a smile.

The planet they emerged onto was, by all appearances, essentially like most other planets they had visited. Trees and grass and little sign of life so close to the gate, just like most other worlds. But there was something vaguely familiar about it. Vala couldn't help but think that she should remember having been there before.

There was something about the place that she really didn't like. It wasn't anything outright disturbing, just a pervasive unease that seeped into her bones and wouldn't be shaken away. Perhaps it was the over-solicitousness of the people they had met, or the heavy dampness of the land in general. Whatever the unease, it would not leave Vala's thoughts.

She tried to talk her way out of staying for the feast to which the locals had invited them, reminding Daniel and Sam about those pesky minor food allergies she had inherited form her father, but she could not sway them to allow her to return early.

"It's just a meal, Vala," Daniel insisted. "Leaving now would only insult them. We're supposed to be goodwill ambassadors. They've gone to a great deal of trouble to organize this."

"Who asked them to? Besides, it wouldn't need to be all of us leaving, just me. Did you see what they were taking to the kitchens? If they're planning on having us eat those creatures I saw them carry in, they're gravely mistaken." She finally gave up the pretense at charming him to do her bidding. "They looked like they could have been scraped from the bottom of my boot."

That evening, she had been further disheartened to discover their feast was largely comprised of the creatures in question once they had been ushered into the great room of the main structure of the citadel. The small animals had been plucked, butchered, cooked and redressed in all their muddy colored feathers. She refused the serving offered her despite Daniel's heated glare.

She decided that Daniel could glare and glower all he wanted, she wasn't about to eat something that looked like it had first been stomped to death by muddy boots and then dipped in a vat of dirty oil. She settled on nibbling at a few of the raw vegetables that reminded her of Earth's carrots and sipping sparingly as the large glass of sour wine that had been forced into her hand.

Daniel, she noted humorously, didn't eat but a bite or two of his own feathered monstrosity. Of course, he was talking so much with the minister that his slight had probably been overlooked. Daniel and Sam had big plans for the following morning and the minister seems eager to discuss the ruins that had caught their attention. Vala had no idea what Cameron and Teal'c had planned for the morning but she knew she wasn't about to go traipsing across half a continent to peek at a crumbling stone structure that may or may not be giving off a Naquedah signature reading. She would happily find something to keep her occupied in the village until they were scheduled to depart the next evening.

Boredom soon sank in and she allowed her gaze to drift around the room. The notion that she should recognize the place nagged at her, but Daniel had already assured her that they had never been to this particular planet before. It was most assuredly not one of the planets she had called on prior to joining the SGC and reforming her ways. Regardless, she could not banish the idea that she had been here before.

The overly cheery woman who sat across the banquet table from her prattled on and on about the recent harvest and Vala did try to feign interest, for a while at least. But the truth was, she didn't particularly care about field product yield or rainfall measures in the lower fields or the rotation of crops.

When the woman found another more engaging audience, Vala allowed her eyes to slowly droop closed. Suddenly, staying awake seemed to be nearly impossible and the beginnings of a headache pricked at her temples. A hard jab to her ribs started her awake and she rolled her eyes at the return of Daniel's disapproval. What did he care if she fell asleep in her soup? He should be glad she wasn't kicking his shins black and blue for making her stay for the feast to begin with.

-oOo-

A hard hand shook her awake and she blinked rapidly to clear her vision. Nothing looked familiar.

"Come, the minister will speak with you."

Vala squinted at the man who had roused her from her sleep. "The minister? He wants to speak to me? No, no, you're mistaken, it's Daniel he'll be wanting, not me." She attempted to roll away from the man's insistent touch and allow sleep to reclaim her. Her head felt so heavy, she didn't think she could rise even had she wanted to try.

"The minister demands your presence in the great room," the man insisted.

Vala squinted up at him and tried to shake some of the fuzz from her thoughts but only succeeded in making the room spin. She wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon. She pushed herself up on one elbow and glanced around the dreary chamber. How had she ended up here? The last thing she could remember from the feast was Daniel glaring at her for… something she had done, or failed to do, or possibly for something she had wanted to do.

Speaking of Daniel, she squinted into the gloom, where was the rest of her team? Had they left on their jaunt without even stopping in to say goodbye?

"My friends… They're already awake? They're not here?" She cast about in confusion. She couldn't remember retiring the previous evening, didn't recall ever seeing this room before.

The man gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet. "The minister will see you now."

"Yes, yes… the minister," she agreed wearily. Upright, Vala swayed wildly and she clutched at the man's shoulder in an attempt to remain standing. She smiled unsteadily. "Guess I drank more of that wine last night that I thought."

He said no more, but guided her along a passageway and into the crowded great room. The queasy feeling she had been battling ever since first stepping from the event horizon suddenly worsened. It was half way through the corridor that she realized her feet were bare but the man would not allow her to pull from his grip to retrieve her shoes from where ever they might have been hidden. She was still trying to put one foot steadily in front of the other without wavering too badly when she realized she had been sequestered into a barred cage, the door swinging shut to clang loudly behind her.

She spun around, her lack of balance causing her to fall against one of the walls of her prison. Her thoughts were still muddled when she faced those who watched her.

The man who had led her there stood with his back to her. "The minister will read the charges against the prisoner."

"Charges?" Vala's mouth quirked in confusion, she was waiting for the joke to end so that she could take out her anger on her teammates. However, she had yet to see any of them and her head was still aching and spinning alternately. She didn't understand how she could have a hangover when she had barely drunk any of the horridly bitter wine from the previous night's feast. "What charges? I haven't been here long enough to have done anything wrong yet," she complained, raising a hand to the base of her skull where the throbbing was so forceful she thought the pulse must be visible from across the room.

The man who climbed atop the dais barely stood at Vala's eye-level, despite the elevation of the platform. His heavy, dark robes rustled stiffly as he situated himself behind the podium and struggled to pry open a large book, flipping through the yellowed pages until he seemed to have found what he was searching for. He took a deep, haggard breath. "The crimes as committed against we the Tangata Whenua by the creature Qetesh are as follows…"

"Wait!" Vala's shout had brought the gathering to a stand still and reverberated harshly in her head. She had lifted her hands in a further plea but slowly, very slowly, dropped them back to her sides when several primitive but most likely highly effective weapons were pointed her way. "What I mean to say is, I understand now. You have a quarrel with Qetesh," she stated just as slowly. "I don't mind telling you, I have a quarrel with Qetesh as well."

The man looked at her, unmoved, and began to read from the list of Qetesh's atrocities.

Vala's skin prickled and chilled with goose bumps and she tried to calm her ragged heartbeat. "But don't you see, I didn't commit any of these crimes, it was Qetesh. I'm not Qetesh, she's not a part of me anymore. I'm just as much her victim as your people… probably more so." She cast her gaze at the others who filled the great room, desperate for an escape. "I couldn't stop her. Yes, she used my body to commit these crimes, but I couldn't stop her. It wasn't me."

No one moved. No one would even meet her gaze. She blocked out the minister's droning voice as she sought to find some means of escape. She was, after all, well aware of the evils Qetesh had inflicted upon others, she didn't need a recap. This was insane but it did answer the nagging question of why the place had seemed vaguely familiar. She had always known, somewhere in the back of her mind she had always suspected at any rate, that Qetesh would be the death of her but it didn't mean she had to accept it easily.

The walls looked solid enough, so did the bars of her cage, for that matter. No open windows, no unguarded doors… She would have tried her hand at picking the lock to her cage had there been fewer gawking witnesses. No, any escape attempt would have to wait until she could come up with a brilliant plan for getting away before they took out their frustrations with Qetesh on her.

Only when an approving murmur swept through the hall and the crowd began to disperse did Vala realize she had missed hearing the details of Qetesh's punishment. She jerked her gaze back to the minister who was slowly and painstakingly making notations in his hefty ledger.

"Wait, please…"

He raised rheumy eyes to regard her. "You should be grateful for our leniency. The crimes committed against us would easily bring a sentence of death, however, we are a compassionate people. It is understood that you were a prisoner of Qetesh at the time of the crimes, but punishment must be meted out. Someone must answer for these atrocities."

He eased the book closed, his expression softening slightly. "I am sorry. As minister, I tried to convince the council to at least allow you a potion during the castigation but the anger of our people is too great to allow so much leniency."

Vala shook her head, her brow furrowing as she watched guards approach the cage. Suddenly, she didn't mind being caged up so much as long as it meant she would remain untouched. "I don't understand."

The minister nodded sadly. "I fear you will all too soon."

"You drugged my wine," Vala stated. "You tricked me and my friends into believing you were interested in forming alliances, you encouraged them to leave to visit your ruins knowing I would remain here and now you're sorry you can't prevent your own people from heaping on me a punishment I don't even deserve?" It had taken her still throbbing head longer to piece the all facts together than it would have under ordinary circumstances but she was morbidly pleased she had managed it at all.

"And what of the rest of my team? What have you done with them?" She would have shouted her demand had the pain in her head not increased. Instead, her voiced dropped to an almost whisper and the minister had to lean toward her to hear.

"Your friends remain unharmed. They should be arriving at the ruins with their guides now. We have no charges against them."

Frustration gnawed at her words as she reiterated, "Just as you have no right to lay charges against me." Charm had not worked with these people when she wasn't incarcerated; she wasn't going to waste her energy on trying to charm them from behind bars.

"The Hara Tuhituhi will commence as soon as the provisioners are prepared." The minister watched her, his expression more sympathetic than before but still determined. "I am sorry, Vala Mal Doran, I believe you stand innocent of these charges. However, someone must be punished."

"So I'm to be Qetesh's whipping boy," she muttered. Forcing her voice to regain at least some of its usual spirit, she added, "Don't have your provisioners hurry on my account." She waved her hand in a broad gesture. "Let me stew for a few days, and then exact your revenge."

The minister's eyes widened. "The sentence will be carried out before the sun reaches its zenith on this day."

Vala's eyes snapped back to his face. "Today?" She glanced at the only window in the room, noting the golden glow that had begun to color the sky. "Now?"

"It is our way."

"Yes, well that's great for you then, isn't it? Speedy trial, even speedier punishment," Vala snapped. She backed into the furthest corner of her cage when the guards released the lock and swung the door wide. She weighed her chances of escaping against six muscle-bound men and knew that she didn't stand a chance against them, not without any weapons.

"If you struggle, it will be worse for you," she was warned.

"Will you at least tell me what this," she struggled for the phrase, "this… Hara Tuhituhi is? Shouldn't I be allowed to prepare myself? Or is allowing an innocent but condemned woman that much compassion not your way?" She slapped at the hands that reached for her, landing a punch against the guard who had pushed into the cage in his quest to take her out of her temporary haven.

The man didn't even waver, as if her strike had no force behind it at all, and by the way her fist ached, she knew that it had. Her struggle did not last long. Overpowered and outnumbered, she was pulled from the cage despite the curses she spat out at them. In a last ditch effort, she managed to curl the fingers of one hand around the bars of the cell's doorway. She might not be able to use brute strength against them, but she certainly wasn't going to make their job any easier.

She smirked at the guard who looked down at her hand. Fine, it would take them all of two seconds to forcefully remove her hand from the bars but that was two more seconds between the here and now and her punishment.

"What? Do you really expect me to allow you to take me quietly? Your minister himself admitted I'm merely being used as a scapegoat. If your people wanted true vengeance, they'd go after Qetesh herself. When my friends discover your treachery, they'll rescue me. If you don't release me now, you can kiss your hopes for a profitable alliance goodbye." She wished she could feel surer of her words than she did, but at least she sounded certain of the claim. Truthfully, she didn't know what might happen when the rest of the team discovered what had become of her.

The man watched her a moment more before he reached for the cell's door and slammed it against her clutched fingers.

Vala could do little more than gasp in realization of his intentions before she emitted a pained howl. Her crushed hand fell from the bar and dangled limply, the pain quickly overtaking the throbbing of her head. She tried to curl the fingers into a fist, an automatic response to the hurt inflicted on them, but quickly forced them to hang limp. Nausea flooded her stomach, making her glad she had not eaten any of the feast's offerings the evening before. She no longer fought against them as they took her from the great room.

She tried once more to pull away from the hard hands that held her as her guards reached a chilly room at the end of a long and winding corridor. It was her one last effort to flee the impending doom of whatever it was that lay within that room, but the pulsating pain in her hand combined with her throbbing head and an unexpected bout of vertigo prevented her body from fully cooperating with her tumultuous thoughts.

She continued to struggle against the hands, pulling backwards as they forced her through the doorway. Once in the room, she further refused to cooperate, causing the men to drag her the rest of the way. Being a dead weight, she decided was little worse than struggling fruitlessly but it did conserve her energy.

"Stand before the provisioners," a sour voice snarled in her ear.

Vala chose to ignore the demand, stubbornly remaining as limp and lifeless as possible. Hoping beyond hope that some one would find a way to get her out of this mess before it was too late.

"You were told to stand."

Behind her closed lids, she rolled her eyes. She wasn't deaf. She had heard the demand - she had merely chosen not to obey. With her eyes closed, she found her vertigo was not nearly so bad as it was when she could see things flashing about in front of her eyes, she also learned she could not protect herself from being lashed out at by her guards.

The pain was second to the distinctive sound of a booted foot stomping down with a snap and crunch. Vala's brain frantically worked to piece together what had occurred... the guard's anger, her bare feet dragging behind her and the excruciating agony radiating up her leg. Her eyes bulged and her mouth gaped open. Her lungs struggled to draw in air to no avail.

The guard who had first led her to the great room stepped forward and slid a gag into her mouth, tying it securely behind her head before she could clamp her mouth down against the pain of her foot..

_to be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Price of Redemption

Author: Melpomene Blue

Rating: T

Summary: "The harmless recon mission she had been promised had failed to live up to its expectations."

Disclaimer: No monies made, no rights held.

**The Price of Redemption (part two)**

She lay exactly as they had left her when they'd finished the castigation - dropped unceremoniously on the thin pallet on the floor of her appointed room, her eyes open and staring. Everything hurt far too much for her to close her eyes and surrender to sleep, no matter how exhausted she was. She also found herself faced with an irrational fear of a continuation of the Hara Tuhituhi or bringing down upon her shoulders the further ire of the guards should she allow herself to rest and her defenses to drop. She hoped that by being completely still, that by pretending to not exist, she could almost fade away and pretend none of this had ever taken place.

On her upper arm crawled a small green and yellow speckled beetle and she watched its progress with disinterested, unfocused eyes, the half-light of the room not helping to soothe the deep ache that had settled in her temples. The beetle wobbled dangerously, almost sliding from the sweat-slick flesh of her arm to roll to the floor, but caught itself just shy of toppling over and turned to seemingly stare into her eyes, fluttering its wings in apparent agitation. She watched it steadily, feeling the gentle pricking of its stiff legs on her over sensitized skin. The bug lost interest in trying to intimidate her and wobbled further along her extended arm and over the broken flesh of her wrist.

Vala allowed her gaze to follow it, finally falling on her hand as the beetle skittered across it. She had not tried to move the fingers voluntarily since her initial attempt to curl them in on themselves when they were first maimed. Now her fingers were swollen, bloody, oddly bent and a reddish-purple shade that she was relatively sure was not all due to the dried blood and certainly looked to be a very bad sign. She had no wish to see what had become of her broken foot, fearing it was in a similar state.

It was the fear of pain now that kept them immobile rather than actual discomfort. Honestly, she couldn't differentiate between one pain and another to decide which was worse: her back, foot, hand or head.

She was ready to be rescued.

Vala had no idea how long she had remained on the pallet. Pain-filled wakefulness had finally given way to a troubled slumber, and she jolted groggily awake when the door of her room slowly creaked open. She considered rising to face the interloper on her feet but discarded the notion when she realized she would have to move in order to do that. In the time she had been left on her own, her muscles had stiffened and would not respond even to her half-hearted attempt to shift to the edge of the mat, much less moving to stand.

"Vala?"

She released her held breath when she recognized Daniel's voice. However, the tension didn't leave her muscles when she noted the irritation that flavored his tone. Deciding to ignore him in the vain hope that he would go away and leave her to suffer alone, she closed her eyes again.

"Vala, where have you been? Didn't you hear me?"

She snorted softly against the rough blanket that pillowed her head. She wasn't the one who had wandered off on a guided tour, leaving a teammate alone and unprotected to be mistreated by their hosts.

"It's time to leave, everyone else is already packed up and ready to head out to the gate."

She knew she would have to stand if she wanted to get off this planet - remaining behind was not an option. She would have to move and she was going to have to ask Daniel for help regardless of how much it pained her to do so. She just wished he would lose his aggravation before she had to ask for his assistance.

"Vala, are you listening to me?" Obviously his irritation with her from the previous night's feast had not yet worn off and her lack of response was only adding to it.

She felt him kneel down next to her. The thin blanket the guards had dropped over her covered the damage done to her back as well as her broken foot, but her mangled hand was hidden only by the poor lighting. She finally admitted to herself that she was not fit to get herself out of the room, much less off the planet. She carefully sucked in a deep breath and slowly turned her gaze toward him.

Her voice was hoarse and shaky when she finally spoke. "Daniel."

She saw him peer down at her, the irritation sliding from his face to be replaced by honest concern. "Vala? What's wrong?"

She swallowed raggedly against the roughness of her throat and tried to speak again, grateful the guards had removed her gag before leaving her there. "I need... I... ah!"

She bit down savagely on her lip when Daniel placed a gentle hand against her shoulder, desperate to find an outlet for the sudden increase in pain. "Don't! No... I..." Despite the stiffness and the pain, she managed to shove herself forcefully away from his touch, the blanket dragging across her back to pool on the floor next to her, leaving the worst of her injuries exposed to the chill of the room and a very unprepared Daniel.

"Vala..."

She turned her face from him when she heard the hitch in his voice and his sharp intake of breath. Although she longed for something with which to cover herself, she hurt too much to try to maneuver the blanket back across her body. Modesty had never been among her most pressing concerns, but just now she could wish for nothing so well as to be protected from the prying eyes of her teammate.

"I don't think I can stand without help, Daniel," she whispered at last. She would have swatted his hands away from his inspection of her back had she thought she could get away with doing so without causing herself further pain. "And walking..." She shuddered to think of trying to walk with her foot injured and untreated. "I know I can't." She could feel Daniel's fingers feather-light on the traumatized skin of her back and tried to direct her thoughts away from what he must be seeing.

"What happened, Vala? Who did this to you?"

She couldn't keep the snarl from her voice as she replied, "The minister, the provisioners... the goodly people of this planet." She flinched away from him when his hand jerked and caused his fingers to press against the cuts on her back too forcefully. She bit back a sigh when she felt him pull his hands away entirely.

"But why would they do this?"

"Seems I did remember this place," she croaked harshly. "At least as an observer..."

"Qetesh is the evil from their history? The evil to be made to bear the proof of her actions against the Tangata Whenua?" She was pleased that she didn't have to spell it out for him. He was a bright young lad after all.

Vala chuckled mirthlessly. "To bear the proof of her actions... Yes - that. They call it the..." she drew in a shuddering breath and tried to lick her lips against the terrible dryness of her mouth, "the Hara Tuhituhi." She scrubbed her face against the pallet before turning to face him again. "I think my hand and foot were just to whet the guards' appetite. I was not a model prisoner."

"We need to get you out of here," he said quickly after inspecting the other injuries.

"I agree, but how?" She fought against the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes as well as nausea roiled in the pit of her stomach. "I can't walk..."

He brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek and nodded. In less time than it took Vala to banish her unshed tears before they fell, he had already contacted Cameron by radio. He provided no information, rather insisted that he needed the rest of the team to converge in the room they had been told Vala had used.

"You aren't under guard," he stated, turning his attention back to her. His hands skimmed her arms, she supposed searching for more injuries.

"By their reckoning, the punishment is complete. Their justice is quick," she murmured hoarsely. "They don't seem to believe in lengthy incarceration and I have some rather serious doubts about their version of a fair trial..." her voice had faded to nothing more than a wheezy whisper by the time she finished her comment. "I don't believe they think very highly of first aid either."

She couldn't see Daniel's expression and wasn't sure she wanted to anyway. He finally stopped touching her and she closed her eyes again in relief, trying not to dwell on the fact that very soon the rest of SG1 would be barreling into the room and bear witness to her injuries themselves. Sudden, illogical fear surged through her and she tried to catch Daniel's attention. It proved futile; he had moved to the door, watching for the others with a mask of worry shading his face.

"Daniel..." her voice was only getting worse with use, but she didn't let it stop her from trying. "Daniel," a little louder that time and she was able to draw his attention back to where she lay.

He left his temporary post by the door and crossed the room to drop back down to her side. "As soon as they get here... We'll get you back to Dr. Lam, she'll patch you up."

Vala raised her brows in undisguised scorn. "Has Dr. Lam gained some experience with a healing device that I was unaware of?"

"It'll be okay..."

She pinned him with as stern an expression as she could manage. "Don't, Daniel, just... don't." Her breath shuddered when she tried to take a deeper breath and she held the breath, waiting for the flaring pain to recede. "I know the damage they inflicted. I was, unfortunately, present and conscious the entire time." She squeezed her eyes shut.

Anything further she had wanted to say was lost to the sound of footsteps in the corridor rapidly approaching the room. She braced herself for the worst and prayed she would at least have the decency to pass out this time.

"Daniel?" Sam's voice was the first one Vala heard and she sagged with relief that it was not the minister or any of the others of the planet checking in on their convicted guest.

"So, what's the hold up?" Cameron's voice followed Sam's. "Let's get a move on."

"Is Teal'c with you?"

"I am here, DanielJackson."

Vala drew in a long breath and, trying to keep her aches and pains from hurting any more than was absolutely necessary, struggled to push herself up with her one good hand. She managed to roll onto her side but could not manage anything more than that without threatening to continue rolling onto her back, something she did not wish to attempt any time soon. Biting her lower lip, she tried again to push her body up into something resembling a sitting position.

Determination fueled her and despite the shooting pains and increasing nausea that accompanied her maneuvering, she was able to sit more or less, her breath coming in agonized pants. Since the back of her shirt had been shredded by the provisioners in order to allow them to have full access to her back, she tucked her wounded arm against her chest to keep the loosely hanging fabric from falling off completely. Her good hand stayed planted firmly against the pallet to prevent her from falling over. She had not yet dared to lift her eyes to her newly arrived teammates.

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Sam had begun to sound concerned and Vala tilted her head slightly to the side to allow the open doorway to fall into her line of vision. She saw her friend cast a questioning glance into the room.

"We need to leave now but Vala's going to need some help getting out of here." His pause was heavy and drawn out. "Then we're going to have to discuss what's to be done. I'd say negotiations have been called off."

Vala watched Sam's curious expression and leaned slightly away from her when she entered the room and approached the pallet.

"Vala? This can't be a hangover... you barely drank any of the wine from the banquet." Sam laughed softly and dropped to a squat when she had covered the distance from the door to the pallet, her eyes falling on the hand Vala had pressed against her chest. "What...?"

"It gets worse," Vala heard Daniel warn.

"Worse?" Sam's head snapped back toward Daniel before returning to Vala. "How much worse?"

Vala chose to answer that question herself. "Much worse." She straightened her head and ducked it slightly, allowing her hair to spill forward, but raised her eyes to meet Sam's through the dark veil.

The unspoken questions and open worry in Sam's eyes were nearly Vala's undoing. She had been able to hold onto her emotions while it was just Daniel in the room with her, had even fought back the tears that stung her eyes, but with the addition of the rest of the team she wasn't certain she could keep it all under control... and she couldn't lose control. Vala never lost control, at least not when it counted – and this counted.

She watched Sam closely, could read the unspoken questions dancing in her eyes but could not bring herself to answer them. She wished she could just open her mouth and let all the answers they wanted spill out and get it over with but she was afraid she didn't even know the answers herself.

"Her back... and her foot…"

She watched Sam's brow furrow at Daniel's words and saw the question settle in her expression. With a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, Vala granted her friend the permission she sought.

"ValaMalDoran."

Sam had risen and, with a small smile of encouragement, she moved around the pallet and out of her line of sight. Vala could hear Daniel and Cameron speaking quietly near the door. She dreaded meeting Teal'c gaze although she couldn't pinpoint a reason why she would feel so reticent. She swallowed painfully and tightened her jaw before lifting her chin. It took much longer to make her eyes meet Teal'c's.

"Teal'c," she answered slowly, her voice barely audible.

He inclined his head. "I believe you require our assistance."

A single tear slid down her cheek in response and she dropped her gaze to fix on her lap. In her awkward position, she had jolted not only her hand but also her foot and she bit back the sob that ached to rise in her chest. She should have remained laying down but pride and a feral desperation to prove she wasn't completely down trodden had forced her to move.

Once Sam had finished her initial assessment of Vala's injuries, gently patting her uninjured hand and assuring her as Daniel had that they'd have her delivered into Dr. Lam's care soon, Vala was faced with the notion of how they were going to manage to get her out of the room and to the gate.

Teal'c's gaze felt heavy although she no longer met his eyes. She knew he continued to watch her and wished she could feel less like a condemned criminal and more like a comforted friend by his silent concern. But if she were to be honest with herself at least, she had to admit that perhaps this wasn't so very undeserved.

"Vala?"

Cameron was the last of the group to approach her and she realized she had not overheard any of what Daniel had said to him. She glanced upward just long enough to see that he had also crossed the room and crouched next to Teal'c.

"We have some first aid supplies with us," he began slowly. "Not a lot, but enough to patch up the worst until we can get you home. Daniel says there should be some painkillers in the pack with the bandages. He went to get them."

She listened with only half an ear, her thoughts swirling through all the events leading up to this moment. True, she was innocent of Qetesh's deeds but she had been guilty of other wrongs. Granted, she had never been viscous as Qetesh had, but maybe in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter to what extent she had been a bad person.

She felt a hand close on her upper arm and flinched in reaction, not expecting the touch.

"Vala?"

She bit her lip again and drew in a ragged breath against the rawness of her pain, both physical and emotional. She didn't think she wanted to do this – any of it.

Sam spoke again from beside her and Vala decided it must have been her hand on her arm. "Vala, as soon as Daniel gets back, we're leaving. We won't be coming back."

She nodded numbly.

"I'm so sorry. If we had known, if we'd had any indication of their intentions…" Sam's voice broke off.

Vala nodded again and tried to force a smile. From the expressions that met her gaze when she lifted her gaze again she assumed the attempt was wholly unsuccessful. "Not your fault," she murmured.

The room suddenly spun again and closing her eyes against the motion did not stop it. She could hear her teammates' surprised and worried reactions, grateful when the voices ringing in her ear faded to nothing. 

_to be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Price of Redemption 

Author: Melpomene Blue

Rating: T

Summary: "The harmless recon mission she had been promised had failed to live up to its expectations."

Disclaimer: No monies made, no rights held.

**The Price of Redemption (part three)**

Vala woke to a cold room again, but unlike the dim and grungy cell where she had spent most of her day, she was faced with the softly lit medical facility of Cheyenne Mountain. Even dimmed, the lights were too bright by far for her over-sensitive eyes and the air was filled with all manner of beeps and humming she soon decided was not conducive to rest. She was flat on her stomach, a position she was fast becoming used to, but she wasn't in pain. 

Her vision was blurry at best, but she struggled to focus enough to take in the IV trailing into her uninjured hand. That, at least, explained the distinct lack of pain. Now if she could just piece together how she had come to be there...

A soft snore caused her to turn her head toward the chair that had been scooted up to her bedside. Daniel was slumped over, looking decidedly uncomfortable but very much asleep, and she wondered how long he had been there. A stack of books on the floor next to the chair and a scattering of folders and pens on the rolling tray attested to more than just a short visit.

She shifted, very slowly easing into a slightly different position, and was relieved when it did not send her crashing back into the depths of pain she had feared it might. Again, the IV probably was to thank for that. Taking a deep breath, she let out an elongated silent sigh.

"It's morphine."

Vala gently turned her head to see Dr. Lam standing at the foot of the bed. "It's wonderful," she admitted in a voice just as soft as the doctor's had been.

"Yeah." Carolyn put down the chart she had been holding and stepped closer to the side of the bed opposite Daniel, placing a gentle hand against Vala's cheek and giving her a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"That's good." Carolyn nodded and quietly pulled up a second chair, giving the still sleeping Daniel a quick glance.

"How long was I asleep?" Her voice was raspy yet but she couldn't feel the rawness of it anymore. She kept her tone lowered to keep from disturbing Daniel rather than to prevent her throat was hurting.

"Um..." Carolyn glanced down at her watch. "Just about twenty-four hours." She nodded toward Daniel. "They've all been here but I was able to convince the rest to sleep in their own beds, or at least in beds outside the infirmary. Daniel hasn't budged since they brought you in though." She smiled again. "They'll probably be back under foot as soon as morning gets here or whenever they hear you're awake."

Vala nodded, although it was because Carolyn seemed to be waiting for some kind of a reply rather than in acceptance that the group would be expected to wait at her sick bed. The sinking feeling that had threatened to drown her when she was still hurting on the planet was slowly seeping back into her consciousness and she darted her eyes away from the doctor.

"It's early yet, and we've got a psychiatrist flying out later this week, but, Vala, if you want to talk to someone..."

"I'm fine. I'm alright." She tried for a grin and fell far short.

Despite her training, Dr. Lam couldn't keep the incredulity or the anger from her voice. "They carved their grievances into your back. You have a right to be angry with them, Vala." She paused, raised her eyebrows. "_I'm_ angry with them."

"Is that what they were doing? Actually writing out Qetesh's wrongs in my flesh?" She had thought as much but hearing it said out loud made it all that much more real.

Carolyn nodded slowly.

"They had their reasons."

"Their reasons are seriously flawed if they enable them to blame a victim." She shook her head. "But like I said, it's early yet. You don't need to talk about it until you're ready."

Vala let her eyes slide from Carolyn to the bed rails. This was something she was relatively certain she would never be ready to talk about but she was thankful nonetheless for Carolyn's offer to let the topic rest, at least for the time being. She decided to change the subject, "So, how bad is it, really?"

"Bad enough that if we didn't have an alternative, you'd be permanently scarred."

"What alternative?"

"The Tok'ra are sending Selmac at Sam's request. He's going to see what help he can provide." Carolyn watched her closely. "Sam seems to think that a Goa'uld healing device will be able to ensure the scars are gone. It'll also help with the healing time. There was talk of seeking out a sarcophagus…"

Mention of the Tok'ra sent shivers down her spine and a cold sweat broke out on her brow. The Tok'ra were not her favorite people in the universe. The Tok'ra had saved her from Qetesh, yes, but their means of doing so…

She shook her head slightly, trying to get her point across. "No sarcophagus," she stated. She remembered clearly her previous experience with the thing and refused to even consider it. "But the healing device… I can use one…"

This time it was Carolyn who was shaking her head. "You could use one when it wasn't you who was injured. You aren't even going to try it on yourself, I refuse to even consider it. I don't know a lot about them, but according to the reports I've read, it takes a lot out of the healer." She brushed a hand across Vala's hair. "When the healer and the healed are the same, we'll let Selmac come and help."

"But…"

"No buts." Carolyn rose and stretched, checked the bags of fluid that were draining into Vala's arm and made a note in the chart she reclaimed. "Now that I know the medicine's working, I'm going to catch a nap. If the pain comes back or if you need help with anything, the call button sounds in my office. I'll be right here all night. Oh, and try not to talk too much. Your mouth was pretty torn up. If I had to guess, I'd say you bit through your lip a few times."

She took a few steps away from the bed before she turned and glanced back at Vala. "You're going to be okay, Vala. I wasn't sure about your physical state at first, but you're doing much better than I had hoped when I first saw them bring you through the gate."

Vala nodded and tries for a smile that she knew failed despite the doctor's nod of encouragement. She watched Carolyn walk slowly toward her office, grateful for the solitude.

"How are you feeling?"

She closed her eyes briefly and wondered how much of her conversation with the doctor Daniel had overheard. "Better," she admitted softly. "I didn't intend to wake you."

"It's okay."

He was around the bed and in her line of vision before she thought to turn her head to face him. The expression on his face was gentle, painfully so, and she wished he'd go back to his chair. She watched him steadily instead, not wanting to fight the fuzz in her head to come up with something to say.

"Sam was here. Teal'c and Cameron too. They all send their best. They're planning on returning in the morning."

Vala nodded, just enough that she would be sure he would notice she had heard. After a long moment of silence, she spoke. "You don't have to stay here, Daniel."

"Actually, I do."

She shook her head, more forcefully this time, and felt the first naggings of dulled pain creep into her body. "No, it's alright. You heard Dr. Lam, I'm going to be just fine. Go back to your apartment. Sleep in your own bed."

"No, I'll wait here. The chair's not so uncomfortable."

She rolled her eyes, feeling the pain creeping back ever so slowly. Her eyes drifted to the suspended bag of fluid. It looked fine as far as she could tell, her body was probably merely becoming accustomed to the medication and trying to fight off its effects. Perhaps she could ask Carolyn about increasing her dosage the next time she saw her.

"Vala? Is there a problem?"

"Other than the fact that your back is going to be permanently destroyed by sleeping in a chair?"

He shook his head at her. "You're still badly hurt. Until Selmac gets here with the healing device, I don't want you to have to be alone."

Alone. Yes, that was what she wanted. It's not what she had wanted when the minister was so determined that someone would pay for Qetesh's wrongs, but it was what she wanted most currently. She did not need Daniel hanging around out of a misplaced sense of guilt over her predicament. Damn it, she wanted to be alone.

"Alone... I need..." a sharp, lancing flare of pain halted her words and caused her to suck in a gasp of air.

"Vala!" Daniel had covered the short distance between them in no time and had pressed the call button before Vala could try to stop him.

"What's wrong?"

Vala had to hand it to Carolyn, when the woman said she would be right there when called, she certainly came through.

Vala steadied her breath and spoke slowly. "Just a twinge," she glared at Daniel, daring him to contradict her. "I was hoping you could dissuade my guest from lingering."

She watched the ghost of an unnamed emotion flicked across Carolyn's face but it was quickly replaced by her stubborn professionalism. She pinned Daniel with a look. "You heard her, get out. I'll keep you updated on her condition but Vala needs her rest and she apparently isn't going to be getting that with you here."

Vala sighed into the pillow beneath her cheek and tuned out the argument that brewed at her bedside. Carolyn was just determined enough to make Daniel leave despite his desire to remain. It was soon that the room was devoid of argument, Daniel having finally collected his research and departed under threat of being escorted out by MPs.

"So," Carolyn began, leaning heavily against the chair she had vacated earlier, "what was all that about?"

"I don't know what you..."

"Yes, you do. You didn't want Daniel sticking around for a reason and I'm pretty sure it has less to do with your concern for his wellbeing than for a need for him to be gone."

Carolyn watched her carefully. "And I think Daniel was correct about your being in pain just now. I need you to tell me if you're hurting, even if you think it's nothing to be worried about. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"He feels guilty."

"Good, he should feel guilty."

"What? No, this was my doing."

"No, it wasn't. It may have been brought on by Qetesh's actions, but it has nothing to do with you."

Vala blinked back tears that had risen, unbidden, to her eyes. They couldn't possibly begin to understand and she was tired of arguing about it. successfully ridding herself of her tears, she caught her breath and asked, "Since I'm not in any immediate danger..."

Carolyn's eyes narrowed.

"I'd like to go back to my room. I'd be more comfortable in my own bed."

She watched Carolyn for a long time as the doctor mulled her request. Vala saw no reason to remain in the infirmary when she could just as easily lay in bed in her own quarters and not take up an extra sick bed.

"Tell you what," Carolyn said at last, "You tell me when you're hurting and take it easy until morning and we'll see how you're doing then. As long as you don't show signs of distress, I guess I could monitor your progress just as easily from your own bed."

"I'll be a model patient," she promised.

Carolyn lowered her chin and pinned her with a look that made Vala feel more like one of the experiments down in Sam's lab. "Just tell me if you start hurting."

Vala flashed what she hoped was a reassuring smile but from the look in Carolyn's eyes, she didn't think she'd managed to soothe her concern. "Get some more rest. We'll talk about it more in the morning."

It was long after Carolyn had finally left her bedside and dimmed the lights that Vala was willing to close her eyes. Whatever it was that the doctor had added to her IV had been trying to drag her into sleep for quite a while but she had managed to fight off it's effects for a while.

She didn't want to sleep. Sleep, even with the influence of the drugs pumping through her blood, meant dreams and she had no desire to face any more nightmares. Her waking state had provided her with plenty of fodder to turn her sleep into a less than pleasant experience. So she stayed awake as long as possible, awake and thankfully alone.

She couldn't take the heavy remorse that had surrounded Daniel like a cloud and she had no desire to discover if that guilt lingered with the rest of the team as well. She wanted peace and quiet and to be very much alone.

The drugs finally proved to be more than she could battle. With thoughts of being able to move into her room in the morning, she allowed her eyes to slowly flutter closed.

_to be continued…_


End file.
